A cyclist rides around two parked delivery trucks and parked cars Monday afternoon on Yampa Street. Several business owners on the street are opposed to removing parking spaces in the area to make it more pedestrian friendly.

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Steamboat Springs  Brock Webster would love to see fewer and fewer cars on Yampa Street along with a transition to a more pedestrian-oriented corridor.

But like many other business owners nearby, the bike store owner doesn't think now is the time to eliminate 30 to 40 parking spaces on the street to start making that happen.

“If you do that, then there has to be a parking garage. Where are those people going to go?,” Webster asked Monday from Orange Peel Bicycle Services on Yampa. “Heck ya, I'd love to see less cars on Yampa Street. But we're not ready for it yet. There's infrastructure that's needed.”

The Steamboat City Council on Tuesday night will vote on a proposal introduced by member Kenny Reisman to remove 30 to 40 parking spots on the riverside portion of Yampa where it runs from Sixth Street to Ninth Street.

Reisman believes removing the spots would help to revitalize the street and make it safer for the many bikers and pedestrians who frequent the area.

A Colorado Department of Transportation bike counter on the street detected 21,598 bike trips on Yampa in July of 2013.

On Monday, several business owners on Yampa said while they share Reisman's desire to make the street safer and more appealing to pedestrians, they don't want to see the spaces removed on their street.

Many feared the move would cause more people to avoid the area and spend their money elsewhere.

“Taking away parking spaces is going to make it harder for people to come eat at my restaurant,” Sake2U co-owner Eric Delaney said. “If we're going to get spots taken away, something else has to be done.”

Delaney said parking already is so tight around his restaurant the owners are making employees park across the Yampa River at Howelsen Hill.

Delaney's call for a parking alternative before spots are removed for pedestrians was echoed by many other business owners who would be most impacted by the removal of the spots on his end of the street.

“I'm not sure removing all the parking spots is the answer,” Sunpie's Bistro co-owner Jarrett Duty said. “I'd like to have more conversation and get more input from business owners before a decision is made.”

Jeff LaRroche, one of the owners of E3 Chophouse, called the possible removal of spots a “knee-jerk reaction.”

“I'm all for making this street pedestrian friendly, but (removing parking spaces) is going to hurt business across the board,” he said.

He said it would help for the city to better identify existing parking spaces and look at other improvements such as lighting.

Backdoor Sports owner Pete Van De Carr had a different take on the parking proposal.

“I like the idea. I think it's great,” he said. “I would love for Yampa to be more pedestrian and bike friendly, and right now, it is not, especially in the winter. I guess (removing parking spaces) is the most effective way to do it.”

Sweet Pea Market and Restaurant owner Katherine Zambrana said she needed to learn more about Reisman's proposal and figure out what the pros and cons would be before she could offer an opinion.

Down the street at Aurum Food and Wine, owner Phil Armstrong said he'd like to see other options explored.

"Enforcing the speed limit down here is step number one. Putting the speed bumps in is a good start," he said. "It's a super dangerous area for families to be walking. I just don't believe removing parking from one side of the street is the solution."

The council's discussion about parking spaces on Yampa comes as the city is already taking other steps to increase pedestrian safety on the road.

Several speed bumps were just added to the road, and crosswalks were repainted.

Last year, the speed limit was lowered to 15 miles per hour and reverse-angle parking was introduced to sections of the street. The latter move increased the inventory of parking in the area by 18 spaces, according to city staff, who have compiled a list of pros and cons they felt would come from Reisman's proposal.

Their pros include more freedom to walk and bike along a busy street, better views of the river, the creation of a walking space between Sixth and Seventh streets that currently lacks a sidewalk and creation of a better area for children to bike.

Staff also wrote the decision could easily be reversed if response is negative.

City staff's list of cons includes the $3,000 cost of striping and signage, a loss of buffer space between the sidewalk and roadway and the loss of 30 to 40 parking spaces.

Comments

A wonderful fictional book had a group of people that used for their currency. That resulted in hyperinflation because anyone could go to a tree and pick as much money as they needed. So they then burned down all the trees.

That was not intended to be an instructional guide for government policy.

Watching traffic and the parking situation this past weekend I was amazed that city council would even consider removing a single parking space. Slowing traffic was a great start, requiring every property owner to have a sidewalk would make sense. Cross walks on every corner would make sense. Having a police presence to keep some semblance of order would make sense.

Closing Yampa street to traffic, thus forcing more traffic on to Lincoln makes no sense. Traffic is only going to increase in the future, taking away alternative routes is ludicrous. City council should be looking for ways to make traffic flow and making sure that when someone wants to shop or dine downtown there is adequate parking. We need a common sense approach to these problems not someone's idea of utopia.

Perhaps it's time for the merchants to consider a double or triple deck parking structure. An ideal spot might be the current electric company parking lot, which is under used right now. I understand the EC is not public, but some sort of lease or sale could be worked out.

The real question here is what do regular people in Steamboat want? Reading this article, you'd think the only people who have a voice in the matter are those who own businesses on Yampa. Since when are businessowners the only stakeholders here?

City council, please register me as one resident that supports removal of parking as described. This will improve the safety of pedestrians and bikers and improve the experience of being on Yampa street.

Despite the complaining from shortsighted businessowners, this is a win-win.

Removing highly valuable parking spaces when we as a community have what anyone who actually lives and works in Steamboat would call “a parking problem” is like putting gasoline on a bonfire… OR - in terms that a few members of the council may, more easily understand - would be like selling your existing police and fire stations without having a new station already built. Or identified. Or land purchased for. Or an ETA. Or actual blueprints. You get my point…. It is lunacy!

Business owners on Yampa provide well in excess of 300 jobs to locals - locals that pay taxes, locals who have to have customers to serve in order to make a living, customers have to have PARKING SPACES in order to patronize those businesses. SO, no - we as business owners aren’t the only ones who’s opinions matter in this topic, but we should be looked upon for guidance of the situation as we are the ones ‘in the trenches’ on a daily basis and have ideas to move this thing forward in a productive manner instead of a destructive, possibly catastrophic manner.

I think the real goal here is to make Yampa more pedestrian friendly. Collin, I think everyone certainly respects your opinion. I certainly respect the fact that you seem to run a good business and employ a lot of people. I don't think Clint was trying to attack the business owners, he was just stating that other peoples opinions matter as well. I have worked on Yampa, and while parking can almost always be more convenient, I would not say it is a problem. I am not sure the majority of people in this town feel that parking is a problem. I am also curious, what kind of numbers a business like yours does on a day like this past Saturday. Are numbers down when Lincoln and seventh streets parking are compromised by such events as the farmers market and Mustang Rally? I would think your numbers would be up, but could be dead wrong. I think it is an extremely difficult balancing act, but like Pete, I feel making Yampa a pedestrian friendly street would make it a better asset to the community.

Having a safe promenade with a sidewalk and more foot traffic will likely bring more business into all who operate any kind of restaurant, bike shop, or the like on Yampa Street. This IS a win win for all involved. It is the vision of a few to daylight this area of town and bring the view of the river AND the businesses into plain sight and make this part of town even more attractive to ALL who visit here. It might sound odd to remove spaces but lets give it a shot and see what happens. It can always be reversed by council and will of the public.

Hmmm, I imagine opening up the side of the street to more people and more bicycles and more economic traffic, i.e. people who are in town to spend money, might not harm the businesses there but improve the experience and attract the public more. It's a charlie foxtrot Scott with no continuity to the sidewalk, curb, or pedestrian path. This proposal was a start to address a simple thing and they instead will allocate $50K to alleviate the issue which will remain until said continuity is in place and the area starts to have a little more organization. It's a win win for everyone involved to make the area more attractive and see the Yampa River from Yampa Street, have a nice pathway for pedestrian traffic, and create a safer environment for all.

Today, at Elk River and US40, 0800, a woman pulls up next to me on Elk River on a Bike. The whole world shuts down as she she decides to jump traffic and make a left headig towards Steamboat.....asssuming every one can see her.....the B**CH. Took 50 miles off my breaks.

Bikers think they own the road around here, no respect for others and they flat out assume drivers of trucks can see them. They assume we're just looking at them as opposed to all the other things we have to watch out for. They violate rules of the road with disdain and then get upset (or dead) when their totalian behavior causes them to get injured or cut off.

I don't wish to hit a biker but its coming to the point that if I'm following the rules and they're not....I won't lose sleep over it.